Hi folks.
That’s how my Secret Recipe Club buddy for this month begins all of her posts, so it seemed rather appropriate to start off my post the same way.
If you’re one of her regular readers, you’ve probably guessed by now… my buddy for April is none other than Kim at Cravings of a Lunatic. I may have done a bit of a happy dance when I got my assignment, because I already read her blog on a regular basis.
I’ve learned a few things about Kim from reading her blog for the past year-and-a-bit. (BTW, a very happy belated blogoversary, Kim!)
First off, just like you’d expect from her opening line, Kim’s posts are always friendly and genuine. This lady totally keeps it real, and has no problem laughing at herself. Plus, she’s a fellow Canadian, to boot!
Also, she loves her some horses, has a major thing for Turtles candies, knows her way around an ice cream maker and has some pretty clever uses for mason jars. Oh, and she makes a pretty kick-ass pizza, too.
I’m on a bit of a pizza kick myself at the moment myself, so I decided to recreate her Killer Spicy Pizza Dough, a kicked-up pizza base seasoned with a generous amount of Italian herbs, garlic, onion and hot chili that Kim whips up in her bread machine.
I followed the recipe fairly closely, though I had to use my stand mixer to knead the dough since we gave away our bread machine away a while ago to make room for a meat grinder (what can I say… a gal’s gotta have her priorities). I also swapped out the shortening with extra-virgin olive oil, and added dried marjoram and grated parmesan to the mix just for the heck of it.
I used the first half of the dough to make some spicy calzones stuffed with hot salami, red peppers, mushrooms, olives and arrabiata sauce, and then baked up the second half a couple of days later into the de-lovely pizza pictured here.
In both cases, we were really happy with the results. The crust was beautifully crusty on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside, and the flavour was nothing short of amazing thanks to all the baked-in herbs and spices (especially the heat from the whopping tablespoon of red pepper flakes!).
It’s so good, in fact, I’m half tempted to eat on its own next time, maybe with just a smidge of garlic butter and a dusting of parmesan. Can you say seriously kick-ass soft breadsticks? Yes. Definitely.
Thanks for a truly Killer Pizza, Kim!
//
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp instant dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2¾ cups flour
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp basil
- 1 tbsp marjoram
- 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
- In a small bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, olive oil and yeast. Stir until the yeast dissolves, then set aside to proof for 5 minutes or until slightly foamy. (If the mixture doesn’t foam, your yeast is too old – toss it out and start again with a fresh packet of yeast.)
- Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Pour in the proofed yeast, and begin mixing on medium-low until the dough starts to come together. (If the dough looks dry or crumbly, add some water, a tablespoon at a time, until it comes together.)
- Increase the speed to medium, and knead for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is soft and elastic.
- Shape the dough into a ball, and transfer to a large lightly oiled bowl, turning the ball over to coat the entire surface with oil. Cover with a clean dishtowel and set aside in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1½ hours.
- Once the dough has doubled, punch down, then let rest for 5 minutes before shaping. The finished dough can be used in any recipe that calls for a regular pizza dough – you’ll have enough to make two twelve-inch pizzas, or four large calzones.
We make homemade pizza most every Friday night. I am going to use your dough recipe the next time we have pizza night. Thanks for sharing.
Hot damn! I’m loading my breadmachine first thing in the morning
[...] Start with a healthy breakfast and finish with a treat: [...]
What a great post I really enjoyed it. Kim is so cool when she is blogging and she makes you laugh. Great job
After reading this, I am slightly jealous that I was never your SRC buddy – you wrote an awesome post about Kim! :D One of the best SRC posts I’ve read in a while.
And this dough does sound killer. I’ve been craving some calzones and home made pizza dough myself. I may just have to break down this week.
Holy spice, batman! I want this right now. Seriously.
I really need to start making my own pizza dough and this is on the top of my list.
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
I love spice and have been going through my own pizza kick. This would be so amazing with vegetables on top!
Killer pizza indeed. It looks fantastic and if you say this is your favourite, I’m definitely trying it this week. :)
Congrats on your foodbuzz top 9! I’ll have to add this recipe to my repitoire for sure! You make some delicious looking pizzas!
My gosh, this pizza looks amazing!!! I LOVE pizza, and I love spicy things. I need to try this next time I make my own dough, great recipe pick!
I totally had not gotten to your post! WOW that crust sounds mighty tasty. Anything pizza is a winner!
mmmmm. Simple and looks tasty. Love the shot of the pre-cooked dough with all the spices in it.
Made your red lentil patties today. I’d been meaning to for a while. They were delightful, a perfect lunch!
Thanks, Holly! Also, so glad you liked the patties… they were a huge hit at our house. Need to make some again to use up that leftover tomato jam. :)
Congrats on Top 9! We love making our own pizza so this dough is going in rotation!
ANother-fellow-Canadian
Ceecee
Hi There, Congratulations for being on top 9 !!!!!!
The spicy pizza is looking so delightful and appetizing. A very well made post with beautiful pictures. Loved the presentation. I’ve bookmarked this special recipe of urs and wud love to give it a shot. Have a wonderful week ahead. Thanks & Regards, Sonia !!!
Oh you lucky dog! I love Kim’s blog and to be assigned it for SRC is awesome! You definitely chose a great recipe – makes me hungry for some pizza now =)
That sounds like my dream pizza. I love spicy foods all the time.
Congrats on top 9. I got super stoked to see you there. I’m so glad you liked this. I love me some pizza so always experimenting with it. I am so looking forward to meeting you one day when I cruise up to Toronto.
Red pepper in the dough? That’s just brilliant. And I agree, I’d be making bread sticks left and right with this recipe!
This looks amazing! I have just recently started making my own pizza dough; definitely going to have to try this one out! Great choice!
Spices IN the dough!! Now why didn’t I think of that!! How much better a pizza will be with this dough!!!
I know! I can’t believe I’d never thought of this before… it really does add a ton of flavour to the crust.
what a fun variation on regular pizza dough. delish!
Kim’s recipe is amazing and I loved your personal touch in there!! Makes me wonder… where is the limit when cooking pizza? It seems the options are infinite, starting with the dough itself!!!
Congrats!
Beautiful pictures. And what a great idea to add spices to pizza dough. I haven’t made homemade pizza in ages; thanks for the inspiration. Maybe next up is stuffed crust pizza?
I love Kim’s blog and this is a great choice for your recipe. The pizza looks delicious, the crust sounds amazing and now I desperately want a slice.
We Canucks are definitely “EH” ONE….LOL. I had Kim last month and she is definitely one genuine her gal. I made Banana Sticky Buns. Mmmmmm. I too love pizza and just about drooled over the keyboard. Do pop over and say hello.
Sounds yummy and looks awesome! I’m definitely going to want to try this out myself! BTW, Kim had my blog this month! :O)
Also, I may not live in Canada but I grew up right across the border in NY – Brockville is only about 30 minutes from where I lived most of my life!
I was intrigued by the original recipe post, and I am again – it looks like such a perfect kick to your pizza!
This looks awesome – a great way to give dough a little kick!
This really does sound like a winning recipe isabelle. Thanks for bringing it to our attention!!
I am in love with pizza and this dough sounds killer, love that kick with the red pepper flakes. Next on my pizza night which could be any night, LOL.
That looks so good and we love pizza in my house so I know this will be a hit.
mmmmm that looks perfect!!!!
Kim has such a fun time on her blog, always fun to read. Great pick-I put alot of herbs in my pizza dough but like the idea of bumping it up with the addition of some heat and the Parmesan.
we grill pizza all summer, and I can hardly wait to try this crust. It looks beautiful, and no doubt will taste fantastic too!
I can’t wait to try this recipe out on the grill… we just snagged a Japanese-style ceramic kamado which can apparently go up to 750F. Can’t wait to see how pizzas come out on that puppy!
Oops, looks like these images can’t be pinned :-(, pity. Ok, bookmark then :-)
Apologies – the photos were set to private on Flickr so that I could keep my pick under wraps until the reveal date, so they couldn’t be pinned because Flickr automatically disables pinning on non-public images. Drat. All fixed now!
Such a great idea to jazz up the actual dough!
What an original recipe! I have never heard about putting Parmesan inside the dough :-). And the rest of the spices also must taste amazing! I am pinning it on Pinterest, not to forget. I hope it’s ok with you :-).
Pin away! I always get a kick out of seeing my posts on Pinterest.
This looks amazing!! I love the idea of a spicy pizza crust…sounds really delicious! :)
Omg I almost passed out when I saw you got assigned me. I am such a huge fan of yours. I love the way you describe me. I may have you write my bio for me. You did this up great, love the changes. I am such a pizza freak. Honestly we must eat some version of it 3 times a week. I am so happy you did this recipe and you got my blog. *does the happy dance herself and runs off to tell everyone she knows Isabelle from Crumb made her recipe* Ya, I know you got assigned it but when I tell my version of the story I may leave that part out.
Oh and Canucks rule!!!
Awww… you are seriously the sweetest, Kim.
BTW, this is my new favourite pizza dough recipe. It’s so tasty I have to stop myself from eating my slices crust first. :) I’m already planning on making it again this week!